With This Ring
by Funky In Fishnet
Summary: Camille asks Fran about her engagement ring. Fran answers her questions and unintentionally plants a few seeds.


_**Disclaimer:** I own nothing._

 _ **Author Note:** Posted in honour of starandrea's birthday. May it be sparkly and bright and warm and fuzzy :)_

* * *

 **WITH THIS RING**

Fran put her slice of pizza down carefully. It was a new recipe that she'd wanted to try out while visiting Ocean Bluff – she and Dom had tickets to Tahiti booked for a fortnight's time. They were always traveling but they were always coming back too. Home was as important as every far-off place they explored. Dom claimed that Fran had taught him that. It made Fran glow happily.

Camille was sat on the opposite side of the table, reaching for another slice of pizza, one eyebrow raised expectantly. She was wearing her hair down, it was still black, sometime she changed its color but she seemed to like it black best of all. She was wearing a blouse in a really pretty shade of green, Fran had often wondered if Camille had ever bought clothes when she could just shift into any form she wanted. She'd asked Camille once and Camille had promptly wanted to know more about shopping. She hadn't looked very impressed with the clothing selections in the stores that Fran had taken her to. She'd shifted into a different outfit right in front of Fran. The new clothing had been influenced by what she'd seen and Fran had pointed out a couple of familiar elements.

"Shopping's not so bad, huh?"

Camille had cast another look around the store. "It seems...wasteful."

Yeah, maybe it was. Fran knew what she liked to wear but it wasn't like she spent a lot of time or money in malls, not outside of book stores anyway. When it came to clothes, she'd come to appreciate hiking boots, pants with lots of pockets, and light button-downs that could protect her skin from the sun and not take up too much room in her backpack. Camille liked to wear leather and lots of green, crimson and black, it all suited her. Leather was like armor, right? And Camille had been a soldier, a general even, for Dai Shi and Jarrod and both. And those colors were maybe like her other skins, who she'd been before and who she'd become. Maybe she liked feeling protected, ready for battle just in case and maybe she liked wearing all her skins at once.

Now they weren't talking about clothes though. Fran smiled down at the ring that she was wearing on her left hand. It sparkled under the pizza parlor's lights and made Fran smile broaden. She could picture so clearly when Dom had presented her with it. They'd been sat opposite each other, having a picnic, food laid out between them. He'd pulled a little box out of his shirt pocket, the box had been shaped like a brightly-colored bird and Fran had loved it because they'd found out about her affinity for birds during their first summer travels together and they'd been thrilled when they'd finally been able to tell RJ and everyone else.

Dom had encouraged her to open the box and she'd eased back the bird's beak and there was the ring. It was simple, no huge gems, just a scattering of tiny ones across the simple wide band. The gems' placements weren't incidental though, it was a micro map of the route that Fran and Dom had taken on their first trip abroad together, the one that had really brought them close. It was a piece of them, of their journey, and on the inside of the band was an etching of a constellation that they still often used as their guide and compass during their travels. Fran loved all of that so much, it made her heart beat a little faster and her smile even happier.

"It's an engagement ring," she told Camille.

Camille's confusion didn't clear away. She hadn't been watching much television – Theo had been emphatic that she shouldn't learn about the world that way and he was probably right. Books were a better idea but Camille seemed to like learning from people best. Fran had seen Camille ask questions without any fear of looking bad because she wanted to know and because she trusted them to tell her the truth. She talked to Jarrod the most of course but she talked to Lily and RJ too and sometimes Fran when she was around. Fran liked talking to Camille. When she was away, she actually missed their conversations, they were always really interesting. Fran got the feeling that maybe one of the reasons why Camille was so dedicated to learning and answers was because she wanted to know _Jarrod's_ world and how she could help when he needed it. Camille did a lot for Jarrod.

"Okay, so it's a commitment to another commitment actually. It means we're going to make promises, like we'll put each other first and always take care of each other no matter what and that we, we love each other."

Camille's expression deepened. "You haven't made such promises before?"

"Of course! Yes, but this, this'll be done in front of our friends and family, it's a celebration. There'll be a meal and music and everybody dresses up. Well, sometimes they do, my cousin got married in a swimsuit on the beach. The meal was really good too, it was like a hog-roast with these amazing vegetables. It's whatever you want it to be."

"A ceremony."

"Right, an official wedding ceremony. There's papers and stuff to sign too and we'll exchange rings that we'll both wear so that everyone'll know what we've done."

Camille ate another slice of pizza thoughtfully. Fran tucked into a piece, her own thoughts occupied as well. Of course she'd said yes to Dom, she loved him, she loved traveling with him and coming home with him. She couldn't imagine anyone else by her side. Her parents were happy about it, at least she thought they were. Her mom had been surprised but really pleased and her dad had asked about Dom and his family but they'd both actually taken a weekend off to talk to her about it which had been really nice.

As for the wedding itself, the ceremony was going to take place in Ocean Bluff. Not in a church or at the temple, no matter how often Master Mao and Master Finn said that it should happen there. No, that wouldn't be right for Dom or Fran.

"Somewhere outside," Fran murmured, then from Camille's expression realized that she'd spoken out-loud. "The wedding, it should be somewhere outside."

"Of course," Camille looked like she couldn't believe it'd be anywhere else. "Somewhere that birds can fly."

"Oh yes! But no rhinos. I don't think that would work."

Camille ate another slice of pizza. She had a really impressive appetite. "You will eat pizza."

"There'll definitely be pizza. RJ's going to cater for us, he says it's his wedding gift to us which is so nice."

Fran liked thinking about what the wedding would be like. She and Dom had been in agreement from the beginning; they didn't want anything expensive. They wanted it to be fun, a really good day for everybody. Outdoors would be perfect for the ceremony, like a garden maybe, somewhere lush and varied and maybe a little bit wild too. No manicured lawns or super-tidy flowerbeds. Yes, that sounded right.

"Will you stop wearing that ring?" Camille asked. "After Dom has given you another at the ceremony?"

Fran started and glanced down at her hand again, because she liked looking at her engagement ring."Oh! No, I'll wear both rings together, on the same finger. I don't know why but that's what happens. To show both promises I guess."

"That he intended to commit to you and then did so."

Fran smiled, thinking about Dom's face when he'd proposed. "Yeah."

Camille reached for her soda glass. "And Dom will wear both rings as well."

Fran's smile grew. She'd bought Dom a ring after he'd proposed to her. It wasn't anything fancy, just something that she'd liked and that she'd thought he'd like too, she'd bought it from a little jewelery place in Taiwan. It hadn't seemed right that she got to wear an engagement ring and he didn't. Fran had wanted to give him the same feeling that she got whenever she caught sight of her ring. Dom had told her that he really liked getting to wear an engagement ring, he liked the looks and the questions that it caused and he liked how seeing it made him feel.

Camille looked like she had more questions. That was more than okay. Fran liked being able to help, she was kind of honored that Camille had decided that Fran was a reliable and trustworthy source of information. She wanted Camille to know what kind of world that she'd sacrificed for and helped save.

"The ceremony clothing that you will wear, it will be bought from a mall?"

That was a good question. Fran bit her bottom lip and leaned a little forward. "That part's actually going to be a surprise for Dom. A lot of people wear white and big dresses but that's, that's not me. I want something, something that makes me feel good, you know? Like Dom's ring does."

Camille looked decisive and maybe a bit interested. It was her version of excitement, Fran had noticed that.

"Nothing heavy, something you can move in, and bright colors."

Fran's face lit up. "Yes! That sounds perfect-."

"I will help you."

"Oh, you don't have to do-."

Camille put her soda glass down firmly. "RJ is preparing a meal for your ceremony, as a gift. This will be mine."

Oh. That was a really nice idea actually. Fran smiled and nodded and something relaxed in Camille's posture. Had she been worried that Fran would refuse? That maybe Fran wouldn't want her help? Oh, that reminded Fran.

"Lily too. I mean, she's already asked about going shopping with me..."

Camille didn't look displeased. She got on well with Lily, they went out together for coffee and chats and Camille always looked content in Lily's company. Theo emerged from the kitchen right at that moment to retrieve their plates. He smiled at them both, that small Theo smile of his. He hadn't smiled a lot when he'd first arrived in Ocean Bluff, he smiled a lot more often now though. It was really awesome to see.

"Lunch break is over," he warned them before taking a moment to look at them both carefully. "And why are you both looking like that?"

"Like what?" asked Fran.

"Like you're planning something."

He sounded unnerved now and Fran laughed, holding up her left hand for emphasis. "Oh, shopping."

Theo backed up a step immediately. "Okay. Good. Just...good."

He exited immediately into the kitchen. Camille arched an eyebrow towards Fran, her question abundantly clear. Fran answered quietly, not wanting Theo to hear. He hated when people talked about him.

"He thinks people are going to start asking why he hasn't given any rings to Lily yet. It's making him a bit jumpy. I keep telling him, it's what right for him and Lily, you know?"

Camille nodded like she understood. Maybe she did. She looked thoughtful as they both got to their feet to start their shifts. Fran made sure to give Camille a little space, Camille didn't like when people squashed into her personal space or touched her without warning. Fran had seen how pinched Camille's expression got whenever that happened.

* * *

A few days later, Fran was talking to Dom about a book she was reading – she was currently reading about five, she liked a really good variety. Dom had read the book already and had some interesting ideas about one of the characters. They were sat near Jungle Karma Pizza's jukebox, sharing a large pizza and a bowl of really good salad. Theo was being a good influence on the menu and Fran could recognize a few tones in the pizza sauce that reminded her of one of the cities that she and Dom had visited on their travels. She nudged Dom and held out a slice of pizza with a knowing smile. He ate it right out of her hand with a waggle of his eyebrows. Fran couldn't stop smiling, her heart bubbled over.

Just then, Camille and Jarrod walked out of the kitchen and Fran waved happily. Jarrod smiled and allowed Camille to lead him over. He was always really quiet, he was adjusting according to Camille and that was good. Fran had no idea what it must have been like for him, sharing his own body with Dai Shi. He'd always been nice and polite to Fran, she liked talking to him and he seemed to like talking to her which Camille seemed to appreciate too.

When Camille helped herself to the pizza and Dom playfully asked how much she was going to tip the waiting staff, Fran noticed something. On Camille's left hand was a ring. It wasn't on her engagement-ring finger but it was there, an interesting twist of metal. And Jarrod was wearing one too, on his right hand. Camille looked content, she always looked most content when she was with Jarrod and he always looked most comfortable around her. Maybe that was why they were both wearing rings now, maybe they'd made promises recently or a while ago and had recently decided to mark them.

Fran touched her own ring and then interlinked her fingers with Dom's. He squeezed her hand and kept on talking to Camille and Jarrod – he'd roomed with Jarrod at Pai Zhua and never seemed awkward or uncomfortable talking to him now.

Camille met Fran's gaze and her smile was shy in a way that it usually wasn't. She looked like Fran felt so much of the time. Fran smiled back, gripping Dom's hand. She could feel his ring pressing against her skin. Her heart bubbled over even more.

 _-the end_


End file.
